The purpose of this dissertation is to demonstrate that office buildings in Sao Paulo have the potential to decrease their overall energy consumption by reducing their dependence on artificial sources through environmental strategies.

Analysing Sao Paulo´s office building evolution it was possible to identify that the buildings from the 1960s and 1970s, located in Paulista Avenue, had potential for their energy consumption reduction. The climate study indicated that to achieve a better energy performance the building should take into account external solar shading, Sao Paulo´s high sky illuminance, thermal mass and night time ventilation. In addition, the energy matrix pointed out that office buildings with dependence on artificial sources use almost 50% of their energy for cooling and almost 25% for artificial lighting

A field work was carried out to investigate an office building energy and environmental performance followed then by thermal and lighting simulations to investigate and demonstrate their energy reduction potential. The Eluma building constructed in the late 1970s was selected and further investigated. All dynamic simulations were divided into four different categories regarding relative cost of intervention for a more practical approach. Using Sao Paulo´s high sky illuminance and building adjustments it was possible to reduce the total energy consumption by 40%. Furthermore, by applying the same conclusions to office buildings with similar typologies in Paulista´s Avenue it was possible to reduce the area´s consumption by 1,7 GWh/annum.

By comparing the results from the simulations it was possible to reduce the Eluma office building’s energy consumption from 293 KWh/m2 to 175 KWh/m2 through environmental retrofitting.

Even if the potential of environmental design to cause morphogenesis has been recognised widely, it remains so far unexplored because its main principles – related to building’s physics – are open to many architectural translations. Up to now the environmental input in architecture is limited in most of the cases to passive optimised strategies applied in their technical dimension rather than in their design implications. Therefore, this research was set to investigate the potential of environmental design, and more specifically the context of solar control and daylight relation, from a morphogenetic point of view. More specifically, through the exploration of parameters that affect this relation, the study produced performance thresholds in geometrical terms that can be applied as the environmental input for form generation in a digital design platform. The outcome of the research is the critical point of morphogenetic strategies and environmental input, contextualised in a reference case of office self-shaded forms in London climate (latitude= 51.5, longitude=-0.1). In practice, this becomes a useful guide of the design process for environmental driven forms’ generation.

Over the last few years, population growth in London has created an imperative need for increasing housing supply. At the same time household structure is radically changing with one-person dwellings accounting for a large proportion of the demand. Terraced housing has provided satisfactory living conditions for many years and still defines much of the city’s housing stock. However, current social trends and the need for energy efficiency require a critical review of the dwelling type. This project aims to transfer the principles of the terrace type to a proposal for a new housing scheme. Meeting the housing needs of the changing population through environmentally responsive design is the main objective.

The aim of this project is to explore possibilities for learning environments in the informal settlements on the outskirts of Bogota, Colombia. This topic emerged from the growing necessity to provide schools in the poorest municipalities surrounding the Colombian capital where hundreds of internally displaced people arrive every month. The initial research focused on the history of educational architecture as a means to establishing common denominators, trends and priorities, particularly in relation to pedagogy and climatic context. A private school and a learning centre, two schools from the opposite ends of the spectrum, have served as precedents for this thesis in order to obtain a better understanding of the environmental performance of buildings in this climate and the challenges of sustainable growth. Further research is presented to inform design decisions along with the analytical work that served this purpose. Special attention was drawn to the roof and its potential as a thermal moderator, as well as to the quality of daylight in highly obstructed spaces. Finally, the design process illustrates the methodology and development of the main concepts for a school in the hillsides of Soacha, one of the fastest growing municipalities south of Bogota.

This dissertation project starts from the question why many school buildings in South Korea are similar. Even though it is a very small country, it has different climate conditions in different parts of the country. However, due to the fact that demand for educational facilities was dramatically increased by the development of the Korean economy in the 1970s- and 80s, the Korean government could not afford to provide different school plans for each different climate. For this reason, the educational department made a standard plan which was used all around the country.

The project is based on POE research to understand and investigate learning environment in the classrooms. From the research, the problems can be found when on entering the classrooms, where the majority of the occupants feel discomfort. Environmental factors such as thermal condition, daylighting and air quality can affect each other and it can cause unexpected user behaviours which can increase energy consumption.

Because the daylighting condition in the classrooms is not poor, the upgrading strategies are focused on retrofitting the facilities with optimising thermal properties. It appears that conservatories and shading devices are most effective in terms of reducing annual heating and cooling loads and additional external reflectors are required to compensate for daylighting reduction. Conservatories can be used for both improving thermal properties and pre-heating inlet air when the windows are opened owing to poor air quality during the winter.

The final proposal is combining these optimised elements to reduce total energy consumption as well as improving the learning environment in typical classrooms.

This project investigates the typology of Greek typical tobacco warehouses and the ways in which this typology may be modified during an environmental retrofitting conversion. These types of traditional buildings are characterised as a strong component of local historical legacy, therefore they are typically listed as cultural heritage sites and are usually protected. This governmental provision combined with contemporary architectural needs provides a unique opportunity for conversion. Each conversion is used for multi-purposed spaces and should link past techniques with modern interventions aiming to become beneficial in terms of saving energy, in response to the climatic conditions.

With a view to carry out this dissertation, similar precedents of industrial cases are indicated and the generic case study of Spierer Tobacco Warehouse in Volos is chosen.

The primary hypothesis is verified through the conducted analyses. Therefore, it can be asserted that old tobacco warehouses which are converted into multi-purposed spaces can be transformed architecturally in a way that satisfies the new occupancy requirements and that does not consume additional energy, in a Mediterranean climate. Above all, the implementation of deliberate interventions contributes to a further reduction of the converted building’s energy consumption.

In Colombia, even though the construction of social housing has increased there is still a high demand that has not been fully covered. In addition, the majority of current schemes lack in comfort and consideration of local climatic conditions. This project focuses on the design of affordable urban housing units. The introduction of climate-responsive strategies is a principal aim for improving living conditions. Design proposals have been developed for locations in two different cities illustrating response to different climatic conditions in the country.

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Since, then the high proportion of citizens in the suburbs has continued to grow: by 2008, the ratio of suburban to urban dwellers had reached 2:1. The fundamental reasons for this migration have been identified as a lack of green areas in the city, and the absence of housing projects with private courtyards. However, even the suburban housing projects that are conceived to cater for the demands of this migration do not demonstrate due consideration of the climatic conditions of the city.

The aim of this dissertation project is to create a contemporary re-interpretation of the vernacular three-courtyard house typology for the central area of the city, taking into account the thermal performance and formal aspects of this typology.

The focus of this dissertation is the urban roofscape of Athens and aims to identify the variables, as well as to explore the potentials that are associated with the sustainable regeneration of this particular layer of the urban configuration. The investigation of the prevailing types and spatial characteristics of this layer will identify the variables affecting the environmental behaviour of the urban rooftops and whose assessment, through microclimatic simulations and literature review, will establish the layout of possible interventions; the outcome of this research is related with the specific climatic context and the factors that define the perception of outdoor comfort. Finally, these environmental factors will formulate the design proposal for an urban rooftop in the centre of Athens.

Most outdoors design applications devoid any sustainable and environmental quality. They are either characterless structures driven by low budgets or fancy installations intending to solely excite the pleasure of the senses, undermining in both cases the parameter of human comfort.  As nowadays more and more eminent architects are being engaged to relevant projects, that exceptionally every so often result to masterpieces of contemporary design, it is a real challenge to exploit whether this kind of installations in the future can be additionally enriched by the notion of sustainability, in order for society to reappraise public spaces and eventuate to a whole new perspective of perceiving outdoors living standards.  In this paper environmentally-conscious design strategies are highlighted in the hypothetical reformation scenario of an ephemeral exhibition, Thessaloniki’s annual Book festival, and later on tested to validate their importance and effectiveness.

Methodology adopted in order to reach the final proposal is a set of seriate steps mainly consisting of climate data analysis and fieldwork carried out at the site during 2009 Book fair. More specifically, the latter thorough examination indicates problematic areas and key constraints that should be encountered throughout the design process, as well as design strategies that should be encompassed in the revitalizing scheme.

The most predominant provision measures of them, which mainly refer to sufficient shading, inducement of air movement within book shelters, correct choice of materiality and use of passive evaporating cooling means, are being evaluated via software programs such as Ecotect and Tas that assess their efficiency and strengthen the necessitation of their implementation. The research is driven by key points such as: meeting human comfort standards, caring for the psychological and physiological adaptation of all user groups and providing the “adaptive opportunity” to occupants to control their built environment and  adjust easier to unwanted weather phenomena.Via graphs, sketches and drawings the whole design procedure is presented, from the primary calculated sun angles and the simulation results of the tested book shelters’ materiality to  the final render.